Protective device for vaults



1 1927. Oct l J. J. BALKENBUSH PROTECTIVE DEVICE FORKVULTS Filed Nov. 26, 1926 f fw.

` fluor mm1 Patented Oct. 11, 1927.

UNITED STATES retenes JOSEPH J. BALKENBU'SH, or FOWLEPL, coronario.

PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR VAULTS;

Application filed November 26, 1926. Seral No. 150,902.

This invention relates to improvements in protective devices for vaults.

'It is the object of thi-s invention to produce a device that will enable the bank en i- 5 ployes to rout robbers and 'facilitate their capture. l

lt is a` very conuuon occurrence -tor daylight robberies of banks to occur and during these robberies, it is customary for the rob- 16 bers to iinprison the employes in the vault. `With the usual construction oi ban vaults any one imprisoned therein is helpless as the vault is so strongly constructed that it is impossible to escape and when the door is closed. the prisoner or prisoners cannot sce what is going on outside ot the vault.

My invention, `briefly described, consists in providing an opening through the vault ivall I through which the person or persons imprisoned may release gas bombs into the room adjacent the vault door and through which they may shoot. The opening is preferably formed by a steel box orcasing` which built into the Wall and Which has one end iiush With the outer surface thereof; this end has a door that can be controlled from the inside and which opens inivardlv. `Within this boa or ce a chanr ber is" Jtermed which contains a number ot glass bombs containingl some I'iiriousgas such as tear gas, or a volatile liquid iivhich produces a noxious vapor when it is released. Means is also provided tor releasing one or more of these bombs so as to causeV them to drop onto the iieor outside ot the vault Where they will break and blind or otherwise incapacitate the robbers so as to cause them to desist and which Will interfere With their vision to such an extent that they may be more readily captured.

Mv invention can be most clearly described and Will be most readily understood when reference is had to the accompanyingr drawing in Which the preferred embodiment thereof has been illustrated and in which:

Fig'. 1 is a front elevation of a vault provided with my safety device;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1 and shows the parts in normal position; and

Fig. 3 is a section similar to that shown in Fig'. 2 but Wit-h the parts in open oi' operative position.

Numeral 1 indicates the liront Wall ot a vault. 2 the vault door, and 3 my safety device, which I will non7 describe in detail.

Vbeveled in the manner shown.

My safety device consists oi' a steel box or casing having` a bottom 11, sides 5 and a top` 6.

The bottom has been shown as located in a means ofT hinges 10. This rdoor has its edges' beveledso as to lit the sides of the opening 8 and the parts should be so carefully fitted that the `joint will be quite inconspicuous when the door is closed. A rod 11 has its upper end pivotally attached to the door at 12 and its lox'ver or tree end adapted .to engage any one ot the stopsl?) on the upper surface ot thebottom a. The ro'd 11 serves as a stop which will positively hold the door in any one ot several positions and must be of such strength that it will successfully resist any reasonable amount oi force that might be applied to the door from the outside. A plate 14 is secured in place below the top- 6 so as to form ay chamber 15. The front end of this plate is bent downwardly as indicated kat 16. A slide 17 is slidably moun-tedin suit-able guides so that it may occupy the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. in which position it forms la bottom or closure for the chamber 15, or it may be retracted so,l as to permit one or more of the glass bo'nibs 18 to tall down and out through the open door. A rod 19 is secured to the slide and passes through an opening` in a bracket 20. The end of this rod is provided ivitli a hooi: 21 which serves as a handle.

By grasping the handle 21, the rod 19 andV the slide 17 may be moved so as to open or close the chamber 15. I have shown the rod 19 surrounded by a spring 2.2j which is under compression and abuts the collar 23 on the rod 19 and the bracket 20. This spring` tends to hold the slide in closed posit-ion. It is, ot course, evident that the spring,` 22 may be omitted and it has been shoivn merely for the purpose of illustrating' hoiv it may be applied if it is found desirable to do so.

The device just described is built into the Wall of the vault on one side oi the door, or there may be one on each side of the door.

ln order to maire these devices inconspicuous or to camouflage them, the outside ot the door 9 may be painted so as to form a picture and the Wall may be painted to represent a trame, in the manner shown in Fig. 1, or any other suitable expedient may be resorted to to camouflage the device.

Let us now suppose that the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2 and that chamber 15 contains a number of glass bombs which contain tear gas or any other noxious gas or a liquid that will vaporize and produce a noxious vapor. Let us further suppose that the bank is visited by robbers who order the employes to go into the vault, and that the latter obey instructions. Under ordinary conditions a person locked in a bank vault will be harmless, but not so in this case. After the door has been shut, the prisoner opens the door 9 to the position shown in Fig. 3 and pulls the handle 21, thereby removing the slide 17 from under the bombs 18 and some or all of these fall down and outwardly through opening 8 and finally fall on the floor of the bank where they break, releasing the gases or vapors. rihese vapors very quickly fill the room and make it impossible for the robbers to remain. By using tear gas bombs the eyes of the robbers will be so badly affected that they will be quite helpless and can therefore be readily captured. It is, of course, desirable to equip the interior of the vault with a switch or push button by means of which a bell can be sounded in some suitable place such as the police station7 telephone eXchange or in some adjacent store so that the prisoners in the vault will be able to sound an alarm and to bring help.

By opening the door 9, alittle wider than shown in Fig. 3, a person in the vault can see what is going on outside and may be able to shoot and at the same time be himself protected from injury.

Itis evident that instead of dropping glass bombs in the manner explained the gas may be delivered through the channel by means of a hand pump; the only requisite being that noxious gases or vapors shall be under the control of the parties in the vault who can release them into the room outside of the vault. s

From the above it will be seen that l have produced a simple device that can easily be put into place when the vault is built or which can be readily applied to a vault that is already built and which will make it possible for the employes to rout the burglars' by releasing noxious gas bombs while they themselves are protected from injury.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new is:

1. A safety device for vaults provided with a` door opening and a door for said opening comprising a chamber built' into the vault wall, said chamber having an opening communicating with the room in which the vault is located, means for closing said opening, a plurality of bombs in said chamber and means operable from the inside of the vault for releasing said bombs.

2. A safety device for vaults comprising a box-like structure adapted to be built into the vault wall, said structure having an end plate whose outer surface is adapted to be flush with the outer surface of the wall, said end plate having an opening, a. door in said opening, means for controlling the position of the door from the inside of the JOSEPH JA. BALKENBUSl-l. 

